2005 Will Rogers Medallion Award
for Cowboy Poetry Books

2005 media release from the Academy of Western Artists:

GENE AUTRY, Okla -- he Academy of Western Artists is proud to announce the 2005 winners of the Will Rogers Medallion Award. The award is given annually to Cowboy Poetry books that exemplify outstanding excellence in content and design. The Academy annually recognizes and honors publications that advance the organization's mission to preserve and perpetuate the traditions, values, and heritage of the American West.

AWA Director Bobby Newton says "These books serve as the best examples of their kind. They uphold high standards of artistic and publishing quality, and they make important and lasting contributions to the preservation and celebration of the history and spirit of the West."

The Will Rogers Medallion Award winning books are:

Where Sagebrush Grows, by Darin Brookman, illustrated by Brian Asher;
Pair'a Spurs Press, Hollis, Oklahoma; ISBN: 0-9749518-0-3

Cowboy Poetry: The Reunion, edited by Virginia Bennett,
illustrated by Walt LaRue; Gibbs Smith,
Publisher, Kaysville, Utah; ISBN:1-58685-349x

Short Poems & Tall Cowboys, by Jesse Colt, illustrated by Val Moker;
Friesens Business Machines, Altona, Manitoba; ISBN: 0-9734619-0-x

Cowboy Poetry: Cloud Watchers, by Rolf Flake;
Cowboy Miner Productions, Phoenix, Arizona; ISBN 1-931725-06-3

Recognition of Outstanding Merit/Excellence in Printing and Publication is awarded to each of the publishers.

Award Chairman and AWA Executive Vice-President Charles Williams says, "The winning books meet our demanding criteria for artistic merit, quality presentation and universal appeal. These recipients set the highest literary and publication standards. The Medallion Award recognizes those efforts, and is meant to encourage others to work toward excellence."

A blind jury selects the winning books. Each of the award-winning Will Rogers Medallion books and other submitted books are eligible for the AWA Buck Ramsey Award. That award is given based on the result of votes by AWA members and announced at the annual AWA Awards show held each July in conjunction with the organization's annual trade show and convention. The Will Rogers Medallion Award winners will be announced during National Cowboy Poetry Week (www.CowboyPoetry.com/week.htm) and presentations will be made at the annual AWA Will Rogers Cowboy Awards in Richardson, Texas on July 12, 2005. See the AWA web site (www.AWA-Awards.com) or call 580-389-5350 for more information.

Cloud Watchers, by Rolf Flake

A half century of cowboying and ranching experience informs the stories and poems of a respected Arizona writer.

To read more about the winners of the Will Rogers Medallion Award, click here.